Nottinghamshire’s international roots music festival, Gate to Southwell has announced the first names for 2020. This is an inspiring festival, set over 4 days (June 4th to 7th) in a lovely rural setting close to the stunning minster town of Southwell. There’s all you would expect from a leading event – on-site camping, great food and drink, loads for kids and families, but most striking is the ambitious and eclectic range of acts playing each year.
Already booked are English folk supergroup Show of Hands, Canadian roots duo Madison Violet, Spain’s Anxo Lorenzo Band, Scottish firebrands Talisk, masterful Canadian fiddle and guitar duo Pierre Schryer & Adam Dobres, international combo Trackdogs, one of Ireland’s finest live bands The Henry Girls, awesome Glasgow-based Ímar, French folk-tinged reggae from Simawé, Italians Veronica Sbergia & Max De Barnardi, and English folk-swing favourites BeauBowBelles.
Expect a full line-up of over 50 acts, including more headliners, to be announced in the next few weeks and months.
Saturday afternoons have now become legendary for GTSF-goers with their theme-of-the-weekend concerts in the big-top. Previously they’ve held anniversary celebrations of Woodstock and the Summer of Love and Bob Dylan’s 75th birthday; and in 2020 the theme is “The Beatles” – marking 60 years since their formation in 1960 and 50 since they disbanded. As ever, a host of festival acts will come together on stage to perform memorable songs, with plenty of opportunities to sing along!
The festival has been going since 2007 and has gradually evolved from a purely folk event to a much more inclusive and international showcase of all things roots and acoustic. There are 5 main stages, all covered, and you’ll find many artists perform on multiple stages over multiple days, which makes timetabling your weekend much easier. It means you’ll also bump into artists as you wander from stage to stage – sometimes finding them joining sessions in the bar, or hosting workshops in one of the other marquees.
More information at www.gtsf.uk. Early bird tickets are still available.